Italy: Florence Semester

Program Overview

Language of instruction: ENGLISH

The Lorenzo de' Medici Florence Campus is located in the heart of Florence, a city which is a living museum filled with the works of famous painters, sculptors, and architects. Florence is the ideal destination for those interested in studying humanities, art, Italian language and culture. Extraordinarily rich in history and ancient traditions, the city, with its world-famous artistic heritage, offers the student a wide spectrum of cultural events throughout the year. As a thriving economic center with particular strengths in the fashion, luxury goods and tourist sectors, the city of Florence also offers its inhabitants the chance to investigate myriad aspects of the contemporary Italian world. In addition, Florence is an excellent location for access to other sites and cities in Tuscany, Italy and Europe.

Highlights of LdM Florence:

Oldest LdM site (since 1973)

Comprehensive programming

15 buildings, located in the historic city center

Strong connections to the community; many opportunities for community projects

Partnership with the University of Florence (Italian language conversation exchange, joint archaeology projects) and local businesses, government, and festivals.

Popular student clubs

Lorenzo de’ Medici is a private educational institution located in fifteen campus buildings in the historic city center, right next to the thriving San Lorenzo market and church and close to transport facilities. Together the LdM buildings contain a full range of facilities including numerous classrooms and large, specialized art studios, a cafeteria, a courtyard garden, a library, the student point and the computer center. ALL LDM FLORENCE CAMPUS PREMISES ARE EQUIPPED FOR WIRELESS CONNECTION.For over 30 years, students from all around the U.S. and the rest of the world have enrolled at Lorenzo de' Medici. Faculty in all fields of study are highly experienced and speak English and ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN ENGLISH WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ITALIAN LANGUAGE COURSES.

Course Offerings

The largest of the sites, the Florence Campus currently offers the most comprehensive programming. Students can study abroad for a year, a semester, or short-term programs in the summer.

Students that enroll at LdM come from all around the United States and the rest of the world to study Italian language, studio art, art history, Italian culture, and various other fields of study. The courses offered cover many different disciplines to meet varied student needs. No previous knowledge of Italian is required. The language of instruction is English, with the exception of the language classes and one or two courses designated, "in Italian." Classes are small, with strong emphasis placed on student-faculty interaction.

Students elect one of the following three programs for the Fall/Spring semesters:

Program I: Super-Intensive Italian Language (12-16 credits)Students may register for a total of 12-16 credits of Italian language in this program. Each CCIS member school decides on the amount of credits awarded. Students will complete Italian language starting from either Elementary 1 through Intermediate 2 or Elementary 2 through Advanced 1 over the course of a semester.

Program II: Liberal Arts/Studio Art Program (12-15 credits)A 3-credit Italian language course is required, which is offered at all levels from beginning through advanced. Beyond the compulsory Italian course, students are free to choose any of the courses they want. All courses are 3 credits each. If students wish to take more credits in Italian language, they may also register for a 9-credit Intensive Italian language course plus one or two additional courses or a 6-credit Intensive Italian language course plus two or three additional courses. There are 3-credit internship courses available in art history/museum studies, business, marketing, communications, fashion design, fashion marketing, graphic design, Italian language/service learning.

PROGRAM III: One Semester Certificate Program (15 credits)Students have the opportunity to gather the professional skills and the theoretical underpinnings of exciting fields such as Fashion Communication, Interior Design in Contemporary Living, Product Design towards Sustainability, or Architecture in Urban Context.

FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF SCHEDULED COURSES, PLEASE CONSULT THE FOLLOWING LINK:

Lorenzo de’ Medici is committed to helping students realize their potential, providing high quality education that will enable students to interact successfully with the community worldwide. - LdM Mission

Activities and Opportunities

Student Life

HOUSING

*Housing is not included in the Program cost.

Single or Double Bedroom in a Student ApartmentLdM is pleased to facilitate students in making their housing arrangements for a spot in a student apartment. Most apartments have two or three bedrooms. A very limited number have only one bedroom, and some may have more than three bedrooms. Highspeed internet is available in the apartments.

4 to 6 (or more) students generally share an apartment.

In a double bedroom two students share the bedroom.

In a single bedroom, the student has his/her own bedroom.

In all cases students share the apartment with several other students.

Towels are generally not-included in the apartment and we recommend students to bring their own set of towels to Italy with them. Students can bring a few towels (not many) and buy them in Italy.

The student shared apartments are usually suitable for minimum of 2 to a maximum of 8 persons.

They are not all located in the same building, but within walking distance from the school facilities.

Although apartments are of the same standard and have similar facilities, no two apartments are alike.

*For housing arranged by LdM, the housing coordinator in Florence assigns roommates based on the completed housing profile. Students can request to room with a student they already know as long as both students make that request.

The cost per person is:

Double bedroom: U.S. $ 3,370 (approx)

Single bedroom: U.S. $ 4,070 (approx)

NOTE: These prices are based on Fall 2014/Spring 2015 and subject to change.

HOUSING OPTIONS NOT OFFERED THROUGH LDMIf you choose not to use the LdM housing option, you are free to arrange your own housing. Following are some other accommodation options:

As a complement to the academic program, students can participate in activities that are organized by their Student Advisor within the city of Florence and take day trips to nearby towns (many of the activities are free of cost). Students may also participate in optional field trips to places such as Rome & the Vatican, Urbino, Venice, Cinque Terre, Mantua, Ferrara, Nice & Montecarlo, Arezzo & Cortona & Montepulciano, Pienza, and Sorrento & Capri. These field trips are led by faculty from the school. Field trips are not included in the program cost.

STUDENT CLUBS:According to the philosophy of the school, Lorenzo de Medici's main focus is the student's personal growth, which can be strongly affected and improved by a cultural experience abroad. For this reason, LdM created and supports the student clubs, where people with the same interests can develop and increase their skills, flair, and background together in a completely different social environment. This full immersion in Italian life, society, and culture is explored through various forms and aspects in order to include as diverse a range of people as possible.

The clubs help in obtaining a good balance between the students' mutual interaction and socialization and their introduction, adjustment to, and participation with the host community.

Student Clubs include:

Cinema Club: Students receive an overview of the contemporary and historical Italian and European movie scene. A weekly film viewing will help students to better understand specific aspects of Italian life, culture, politics and society.Soccer Club: Students participate in the local sporting environment and culture through local sports facilities and competitions.Basketball Club: Students are given the opportunity to practice their favorite sport weekly in a local gymnasium.Slow Drink Club: Students discover, understand and experience an important and sometimes misunderstood aspect of the Italian everyday life and culture: the art of drinking wine.Yoga Club: Students practice yoga, and better understand its mental and physical benefits.Pilates Club: Students practice pilates and build core muscles through exercise.Gazzetta Club: Students remain on the cutting edge of what is happening all around Florence and Tuscany by researching, writing, editing, hunting news, taking photographs, etc… Students create the LdM “Gazzetta” student magazine.Gazzetta Photographers Club: Students’ photography skills are stimulated and developed by offering visual support to the interesting news, reports and stories.In addition to Clubs, LdM’s four sites offer various cultural activities that allow students to get to know the city and its surroundings.At LdM Rome students have the opportunity to experience various different aspects of Italian life and culture, such as sports events, films, wine tastings and nature walks in the countryside, in its Italian Club.Volunteer Activities: (in Florence, Tuscania and Rome) LdM has developed relationships with various charities and organizations in order to provide contacts for students interested in volunteer work.

Note: Clubs are subject to change. A detailed list of available clubs will be distributed to all students.

Note: If you are interested in summer study abroad in Florence, see the list of summer program options.

Alumni Feedback

“I gained a greater perspective of how people in other countries live. I was exposed to so much culture and completely immersed in Italian life. I would highly recommend this program to other students. Florence is a great city with great people, you get the city feeling but it is still small enough to walk everywhere.”- Alyssa Nocerino

“Study Abroad is an amazing experience. I think every college student should take part in a program. It is truly a pivotal moment in my life. This experience gave me the strength to battle my insecurities about traveling abroad. I met some wonderful people and made several friends while abroad. This experience helped me grow spiritually and intellectually. My advice to future students would be to enter the program with an open mind and have no limitations. Let the program influences your experience and explore as much as possible.”- Kevin Calisto

How do I apply?

Start the CCIS Study Abroad application process by downloading the forms. To download, right click on the application or recommendation form and click "save as", then save the form to your desktop or downloads. Once you have completed your form, SAVE IT FIRST!!!! DO NOT CLICK "SUBMIT" until you have SAVED your form or the recipient will receive a BLANK form. Once you have saved it, click "submit" and THEN email your completed form as an attachment to the contact email address associated with the program in which you are applying. If for some reason you do not see the email address pop up when you click "submit", then email the application to the program sponsor listed here on this page.

YOU MUST NOTIFY YOUR HOME INSTITUTIONS' STUDY ABROAD OFFICE OR ADVISOR OF YOUR INTENTIONS AND ALSO PROVIDE THEM WITH A COPY OF YOUR APPLICATION.

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